News Briefs
Highlights of the latest franchising news from around the country.
Court Watch
Highlights of the latest franchising cases from around the country.
Getting Published: The Foundation For Business Development
Business development in the legal community is a science, but it requires the creativity of an artist. That artistry can be demonstrated most powerfully through the written word, a tool of great lawyers for centuries. Encapsulating an interesting case or complex transaction into 500 or 1000 words for the benefit of colleagues and the business community at large is the single best way to demonstrate expertise on a macro scale. It is at the very core of client generation.
Musical Chairs for Firms' Public Faces
It all started when communications director Peter Columbus left O'Melveny & Myers for a position at Kaye Scholer this fall. To fill the opening at O'Melveny, John Buchanan left his job at Heller Ehrman. To fill that slot at Heller, Patrick Bustamante left his post at DLA Piper. 'Clearly there's a domino effect,' Buchanan said.
Intra-Law Firm Communications
Can a firm decline to produce the e-mails, notes and memoranda relating to its internal investigation on the grounds that the material is protected by the firm's own attorney-client or work product privileges?<br>The answer is a definite 'maybe.'
A Committee Approach to the Bottom Line
Managing a small, medium or large law firm can be a daunting task, especially when piled on top of legal practice responsibilities. The combination of time, tasks, politics and personalities can seem overwhelming as firm managers strive to consider: 'What values are most important to clients?' as part of an overall firm management approach.<br>The key to overcoming these pressures and competing effectively is a strategy of innovation and differentiation.
Professional Development Programs As Formidable Recruiting and Retention Tools
At top-rated firms, lawyer development and training has become the cornerstone of successful recruiting programs for both law school and lateral recruiting efforts. This trend assures that firms with active development programs will continue making significant investments in their attorney and potential attorney's futures via their professional development programming.
The Place to Network
Has the importance of billing time all but eclipsed the potential gain of going out to lunch with a prospective client? As profits per partner keep skyrocketing, the case needs to be made for the old-fashioned business lunch. Clever 'rainmakers' have a keen eye for business development. They have realized that this forum presents a brilliant opportunity for networking and smoking out new opportunities. New clients aren't lining up outside your office so get smart and get out of that chair!
e-Commerce Attorney-Client Privileged Records Have a Right to Die Too
e-Commerce records may have less legal protection from disclosure than traditional commerce records ' a situation that might cause some concern for e-commerce company principals, their counsel and customers ' even after the companies, and the law firms representing them, no longer exist.
You Thought You Had a Radius Clause: Wells Fargo v. Diamond Point Plaza May Change Your Mind
A landlord secures an anchor tenant with a big-name, stable, and successful chain store. The landlord negotiates that a percentage of this successful tenant's gross sales out of the landlord's location will constitute a portion of the rental payments. In order to protect his percentage rent, the landlord ensures that the lease contains a provision that (it thought) would forbid the tenant from opening another store in close proximity to the landlord's property. Therefore, the landlord has sufficiently guaranteed not only a base rental payment, but also a portion of the tenant's success, and it is confident the tenant will be very successful in the area. The landlord is thrilled, right? Maybe not. New case law indicates that courts may interpret the landlord's lease provision protecting against a new store, a radius clause, in a manner different from the way the landlord had intended.